The
Supreme Court of the United States does not allow cameras in the courtroom when the court is in session, a policy which is the subject of much debate. Although the Court has never allowed cameras in its courtroom, it does make audiotapes of oral arguments and opinions available to the public.
[Tong, Lorraine H]
"Televising Supreme Court and Other Federal Court Proceedings: Legislation and Issues"
Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
(November 8, 2006)
Legislative proposals and debate
In 2009, Pennsylvania Senator
Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican fr ...
and seven co-sponsors introduced a resolution to express the sense of Congress that sessions of the Court should be televised.
[ In 2009, Specter also introduced a bill that would require open sessions of the Court to be televised.][ Upon introducing his bill to require televising the Supreme Court of the United States proceedings, Arlen Specter announced, "the Supreme Court makes pronouncements on constitutional and federal law that have direct impacts on the rights of Americans. Those rights would be substantially enhanced by televising the oral arguments of the Court so that the public can see and hear the issues presented."]["Specter Introduces Resolution to Televise Supreme Court Proceedings"]
press release (November 5, 2009) Eight U.S. Senators co-sponsored Spector's resolution.[, /bss/111search]
on the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
website
Ted Poe, R-TX2, introduced a related bill in the House of Representatives in January 2009.[, /bss/111search.html H.R.429]
on the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
website The only exception to televising the Court under this legislation would be if a majority of justices decided that "allowing such coverage in a particular case would violate the due process rights of any of the parties involved."[, /bss/111search.html S.446]
on the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
website
Support
Supporters of Specter's proposal reason that other government proceedings are already televised, including sessions of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, covered most frequently by C-SPAN.Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...
's PublicMind Pol
"Public Says Televising Court Is Good for Democracy"
press release (March 9, 2010) By televising the Court, they argue that Americans would have more access to the most important institution in the U.S. judiciary, which would result in a more open and transparent government. Bruce Peabody of Fairleigh Dickinson University contends that televising the Supreme Court of the United States proceedings can change the way Americans view public policy by bringing greater attention to the Court.[Peabody, Bruc]
''The Christian Science Monitor
''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...
'' (September 28, 2006) A 2010 New York Times editorial states that public access to the court would give Americans the opportunity to get a closer look at how a powerful branch of government operates. It adds that the televising the Court would hold presidents accountable for the justices they nominate. The editorial reasons, "right now, we see the justices during their confirmation hearings and rarely after that."[Your Reality TV]
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' editorial (March 13, 2010)
During her confirmation hearing in 2009, Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...
indicated that she is open to the idea of televising court proceedings, stating, "I have had positive experiences with cameras. When I have been asked to join experiments of using cameras in the courtroom, I have participated. I have volunteered."
Cameras in the Court has also been supported by advocacy groups including Fix the Court.
Opposition
Opponents of Specter's proposal believe that requiring the proceedings of the Supreme Court of the United States to be televised is a threat to judicial independence and, thus, the separation of powers. In addition, several justices of the Court have objected to the proposed legislation, including Justice Anthony Kennedy
Anthony McLeod Kennedy (born July 23, 1936) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1988 until his retirement in 2018. He was nominated to the court in 1987 by Presid ...
who argues that the measure would not align with the "etiquette" and "deference" that should "apply between branches."[Peabody, Bruc]
"Constitutional Etiquette and the Fate of 'Supreme Court TV'"
''Michigan Law Review'' (ndg) Furthermore, some justices believe televising the proceedings would change the way they act in the courtroom. Justice Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 1 ...
also contends that televising Court proceedings would reduce the level of anonymity that justices now have and could raise security concerns. Opponents also believe that television coverage would also take away from the mystery of the court and cause the public to misinterpret the Court and its processes.
Scholars have also debated the constitutionality of legislatively requiring the televising of Supreme Court proceedings.[Peabody, Bruce and Gant, Scott]
"Debate: Congress's Power to Compel the Televising of Supreme Court Proceedings"
''University of Pennsylvania Law Review'' Vol. 156:46 2007
Public opinion
In March 2010, Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...
's PublicMind Poll found in a national poll that more than 60% of voters think that televising the Supreme Court of the United States proceedings would be "good for democracy." 26% think that televising the proceedings would "undermine the authority of the court."
Voters have mixed opinions on the effect of television coverage on court decisions. While 45% say that televising Court's proceedings would be good "because the judges would consider public opinion more" in making decisions, 31% say TV would be bad because justices would consider public opinion ''too much.'' 25% say are not sure or say that televising the Court would have no effect on its legal decisions. While a majority of voters presently watch government proceedings infrequently if at all, half of voters (50%) say they would watch the Supreme Court of the United States' proceedings sometimes or regularly if they were televised. Only 10% say they’d never watch the court.
Dr. Peter Woolley, director of the FDU poll, said, “Voters are certainly curious about the court, which is both powerful and largely out of the public eye. After the novelty wears off, the primary audience might be lawyers and lobbyists, rather than any broad swath of voters. Most voters will only see it when commercial media select the most controversial bits and pieces.” But Peabody disagreed, “The rationale for televising the court is not to guarantee the public will watch it, but to give democracy’s citizens more opportunities to educate themselves. It is unlikely people will know more about the court by seeing it less.”
Noting the FDU poll, the editors of ''The New York Times'' subsequently opined that televising the Court "would allow Americans to see for themselves how an extremely powerful part of their government works" and "allow voters to hold presidents accountable for the quality of justices they nominate.
Audio recordings and broadcasts
The Supreme Court began making audio recordings of its sessions in 1955, for storage at the National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...
. Starting in 1993, these were released to the public for the first time by the court itself, after the end of each term. In 2010, Chief Justice John Roberts
John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including '' Nat ...
began the practice of posting the recordings online at the end of each week. Occasionally these would be released same-day for cases of particular interest. The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States forced the court to hear arguments by teleconference, and for the first time it allowed the public beyond the courtroom to listen in real time on May 4, 2020.
Unauthorized use of cameras
Notwithstanding the prohibition on cameras, there have been instances of unauthorized use of cameras to photograph the courtroom while the court was in session. In 1932, Erich Salomon caught a single photograph of a session of the Hughes Court, which was published in ''Fortune'' magazine. In 1937, another photograph of the Hughes Court in session, taken by an unnamed photographer, was published in ''Time'' magazine. In 2014, a short video recording of the Roberts Court
The Roberts Court is the time since 2005 during which the Supreme Court of the United States has been led by John Roberts as Chief Justice. It is generally considered to be more conservative than the preceding Rehnquist Court and the most cons ...
in session was published on YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
by 99Rise, a progressive social movement organization
A social movement organization (SMO) is an organized component of a social movement.
SMOs are generally seen as the components of a social movement. The movement's goal that can be much more narrow, or much broader, than the SMOs' goals.
Descrip ...
.
See also
* Sunshine in the Courtroom Act
* Fix the Court
References
External links
Televising Supreme Court and Other Federal Court Proceedings: Legislation and Issues
Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
report (November 8, 2006)
"Cameras in the Court
on the C-SPAN website
"Public Says Televising Court Is Good for Democracy"
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...
PublicMind Poll (March 9, 2010)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameras in the Supreme Court Of The United States
Supreme Court of the United States
Television in the United States